


The DOROD

by bishojokitsune



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-15 20:57:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3461765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bishojokitsune/pseuds/bishojokitsune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the grump christmas party, Danny wakes up in a world where everything is wrong and he's the only one that realizes it. Faced with a deadline of fixing the world, not to mention looking for someone that doesn't exist and having to rely on his technology-based skills, will Dan make it home to the "real" world? I'm sure things will totally turn out fine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The D.O.R.O.D.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: You know how you sometimes have that plot bunny that nags away at you? Yeah, this was a plot crack monkey that would not get off my back until I wrote it out.  
> Don't worry, the entire story is finished. I'll be posting a chapter a day, so no worries about cliffhangers here.  
> Plus, it’s been awhile since we’ve had a traditional Ross/Danny Steam Train ep. (and then, as I wrote this, Ross and Danny are back and playing a Sierra game); that combined with recent viewings of Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu resulted in this, enjoy!
> 
> Also: I know the whole thing about Polaris and Brian's house are inaccurate, but things will all make sense later. I promise.

 

Things were heating up at the grump headquarters as the holiday party they were hosting had an exciting turn out. The night was full of fun times and laughter as Arin, Dan, and Ninja Brian threw an impromptu Starbomb concert while everyone else kept their guests satisfied with stories, games, and gifts. 

After all was said and done, their guests left full of Christmas spirit as the grumps stayed behind to clean the current state their room was in. Everyone started on their own tasks as Danny collapsed back onto the couch. 

Suzy looked back at him, speaking up with a hint of concern in her voice. “Everything ok Dan?”

“Yeah, everything’s cool. I just need a minute.” 

“To rest your old bones?” Ross quickly chimed in as he was putting the game controllers away. “Get it? It’s a grandpa joke, because you’re a grandpa.”

“I get it Ross.” Danny replied in a deadpan tone. Holly shared a look with him accompanied with a sigh and a shake of her head which made Danny chuckle.

Arin spoke up, “You can head home if you want Dan. It’s not like there’s anything here that can’t wait until tomorrow.”

“Nah, that’s ok I-” Danny suddenly cut himself off mid-sentence as a loud yawn escaped his lips.

“Aww… Someone’s a slweepy wittle baby~” Ross coo’d

Danny turned to glare at him only for another yawn to echo from his mouth.

“Well that settles it; I think it’s time for Dick Van Dan to hit the sack.” Arin declared.

Barry gave him a look of confusion, “Wait… were you thinking of Rip Van Winkle? Dick Van Dyke was the guy from Mary Poppins.”

“Oh my God Barry! Just... Alright!” Arin staggered in joking-esque embarrassment.

Suzy and Barry both laughed. “Maybe Dan’s not the only one who should be hitting the hay, Babe.” Suzy suggested as she propped her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “I think we can all call it a night.”

“I can...I can go home?” Kevin piped in a hopeful tone.

“Ahaha!” Barry merely laughed in response. “Oh Kevin~”

“Well, we’re going to get going.” Ross announced as he held Holly’s hand tight in his own. He waved goodbye to everyone else as he left the room with a bright, satisfied grin.

That smile was the last thing Danny would remember from that night.

\-----

Dan awoke the next morning under a scratchy blanket as he lied on top of lumpy cushions. He quickly realized he was on a couch instead of his bed when he nearly rolled himself off of it.

“Whoa!” He steadied himself. “Close call there, self.” He took a look around the room as he tried to figure out where he was and how the events of last night brought him here. He quickly realized he was in Brian’s house and had apparently passed out on his couch; however, the details that led him up to this moment never came to him.

“I must have really been tired last night.” Dan thought, figuring he somehow crashed on Brian’s couch after last night’s festivities. Realizing that he was alone in the house he made a mental note to thank Brian for the use of his couch, and excused himself as he made plans to grab some breakfast and check-in with his roommate.

Dan vaguely wondered if Barry would consider this a walk of shame, or technically a call of shame, as he scrolled through the list of contacts on his phone. Strangely enough, Barry’s name never showed up in the list no matter how many times Dan swiped his screen up and down. After ordering a quick breakfast and coffee, Dan sat at the small cafe table trying to remember Barry’s number; figuring that the mystery of how it made its way out of his phone could afford to be solved another time.

Eventually, after multiple attempts that resulted in disconnected numbers or confused wrong-number recipients, Dan gave up on trying to contact Barry. Noticing the time, Dan collected himself and decided to text Arin for a ride to the grump space, hoping he hadn’t left yet. 

As he realized Arin’s house was within walking distance, Dan made his way there as he waited for a reply; what he got was a confused answer and a request for clarification. Taking into consideration the crazy morning he was having, Dan was just grateful that he had the right number at that point and figured they could all get their stories straight as the day went on.

Dan arrived at Arin’s house and was greeted at the door by Suzy. An ever pleasant smile was on her face as she held a pair of scissors, cutting out various shapes from the construction paper in her grasp.

“Morning Dan! You’re early today; I didn’t know you guys had a recording session planned.”

“Hey Suze.” Dan waved as he walked in. He was a bit confused at Suzy’s remark, after the countless episodes they’ve done was it really so surprising? Maybe his memories were scrambled and he just forgot about a change of plans or something. “Oh… were we not recording today? My mind’s been everywhere since last night, Barry’s not answering his phone and I woke up on Brian’s couch. It’s been a weird morning.”

Suzy’s confused look only deepened, “Are you ok Dan?” 

Dan immediately regretted making her worried, “Yeah I’m good, I was really tired after our party last night, maybe that’s why my mind is so loopy.”

“Our party?” Suzy questioned as she studied Dan carefully, “What party?” 

Dan felt his heartbeat start to quicken as he felt the mysteries of the morning starting to choke his mind. “Th-The Grump Christmas party, that we started planning after Halloween?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Dan saw Suzy’s fingers wrinkling the construction paper in her grasp as her hand began shaking, but before either of them could say anything, Arin walked into the room. He greeted them both with a yawn as he scratched his bed head. “Hey Dan, we’re recording today? Did you have more ideas for Starbomb 3?” 

“Ha ha, very funny Arin.” Dan chuckled in reply as he remembered the hell they all went through trying to put together their second album over the past few weeks. “But seriously, are we not recording episodes today? Did I miss the memo?”

“Episodes? You mean more promos? Or did you have a new Ninja Sex Party song in the works?”

Dan shook his head in disbelief, “No, I meant Game Grumps episodes. I thought we were going to prepare some for the new year.”

Arin and Suzy froze, which caused Dan’s heartbeat to quicken in response. The tension in the room grew thick until Suzy spoke up, moving herself between Arin and Dan. “Dan, what are you talking about?”

Suzy’s tone caused Dan to take a step back. It wasn’t everyday that he heard Suzy use her icy, warning voice, and this was certainly the first time he heard it directed at himself. “I-I mean...uh-” 

Suzy cut him off, “I think you need to leave.” She said firmly as she started motioning him towards the door.

“Wait-wait!” Dan turned in shock, “What the hell is going on?! Is something wrong?”

“Is there Dan?” Arin asked in an uncharacteristically upset tone. “Why are you bringing this up?”

“Bringing what up?” Dan heard himself getting excited so he tried to calm himself. “Did something happen last night? Nothing is making sense this morning. This-this is all just some misunderstanding right?”

Dan didn’t realize he was trembling until he felt a hand on his shoulder stabilizing him. He turned to see Suzy looking up at him in concern. “Dan, are you sure you’re ok?”

“I… I’m…” Dan hesitated as he realized he didn’t know the answer to Suzy’s question. “Maybe I do need to go.” He said despondently as he moved towards the door. 

Arin followed him out, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Dan answered as he attempted to put on a reassuring smile. “We can record some grump episodes another time.”

Arin however, failed to return Dan’s smile with one of his own. The tense silence returned as Dan showed himself out. He then heard the door slamming from behind him and instantly wondered if he did anything wrong.

\---

After arriving at his house and realizing he couldn't find his key, as a last resort, Dan made his way to the Polaris Studios. He failed to notice security at the gate of the building as he made a beeline for the Grump Space. As he rushed into the building, Dan ended up bumping into someone familiar.

“Sorr-Barry!” 

Barry was taken aback at Dan’s sudden appearance and failed to answer him right away. 

“So this is where you were! Oh thank goodness.” Dan took Barry by the shoulders as his hands trembled. “I was looking everywhere for you.”

“You-You were? How did you know I was coming in from New York?”

“New York? When did you go to New York?”

“When I moved there… almost two years ago.” Barry answered slowly, unsure if Dan was being serious or not. “You know, because of...because of work.”

“No, you live here.” Dan said directly, stating a fact. “You live here because of work.”

Barry looked around nervously. “Dan, don’t make this weird.” 

“Make what weird?!” Dan asked as his volume started to increase. “What is going-”

“HEY!” A loud voice called out from a security guard as he walked up to Dan. “Visitors can’t be here without clearance. Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me.”

“Wait no, we’re not visitors. We work here, right Barry?”

“Uh…” Barry mumbled as he rubbed at the visitor’s badge around his neck.

Dan felt his throat go dry, “Why do you have that?”

“The better question is where’s yours.” The security guard responded growing tired of the situation. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave now Sir.”

Dan looked at the guard then at Barry as he felt something in him snap. Suddenly, he grabbed Barry’s wrist and dragged him down the hallway.

“Hey-!” Barry protested.   
“HEY!” The guard yelled as he started pursuing them. 

Dan ignored both of them as he kept running, the only thing on his mind was his destination; the Grump Room. He felt his heart pounding, if he could just see it he would know everything was alright. The door to the room was in his sights just as the guard started closing in on them. Dan reached out his hand for the doorknob just as the guard tackled him to the ground.

Dan struggled desperately to free himself from the guard’s grasp. “Just open the door!”

The door then creaked open as Barry complied with Dan’s request. The light from the hallway poured into the dark studio room, revealing that it was empty and unused save for a table, computer, and a few miscellaneous supplies strewn about.

Dan immediately gave up struggling as he felt his heart sink. He looked away from the room, from the guard, Barry, and anyone else whose curiosity was aroused by the scene. Feeling his heart drop to his stomach, Dan finally realized that there wasn’t anything wrong with the world, there was something wrong with himself.

\---

Dan felt numb as he walked away from Polaris Studios. Fortunately, Barry vouched for him before the guard could press for more legal action, but he was definitely not allowed back at the studio for some time.

Dan’s mind rapidly fired thoughts of what the fuck every so often.

What the fuck was happening?  
Why the fuck was everyone acting so weird?  
When the fuck would anything make sense? 

The next time Dan looked up, he realized that he was outside Brian’s house. Conveniently, just as Dan approached the porch, Brian opened the door. He shot Dan a confused look as Dan greeted him pleasantly, trying to hide his current state of panic. Brian saw through the ruse immediately and changed his expression into a hard stare as he let Dan into the house.

“Hey Brian, did anything happen last night? Anything weird?”

Brian stared at Dan intently as he studied the man, then eventually shook his head.

“Then what-” Dan put his hand to his forehead and started rubbing it as he looked down. “What is going on? First Arin and Suzy are acting weird, my house is empty, and the grump space is gone? Am I dreaming? Maybe I’m just dreaming.”

“House?” Brian spoke up. “You’ve been crashing here for almost 3 months.”

“Whoa what? What?” Dan started staggering away, bumping into a small table as he tried to steady himself. “What…what are you talking about?”

“Your...financial situation is a bit tight, what with your company’s hours and all-”

“Brian.” Dan cut him off, “This may sound like a weird question, but please hear me out. I host Game Grumps with Arin right?”

“Game Grumps? Are you and Arin bringing that back?”

“Back?” Dan choked out, “Did it...did it leave?”

Brian gave him a questioning look. “Nearly two years after a farewell video made it seem pretty much over.”

His words echoed in Dan’s head as he did his best to fully understand what Brian was saying. “Excuse me what?” 

Before Brian could answer, Dan’s cell phone went off with the alert for a text message, almost as if it was protecting Dan from the answer to his question. As he pulled out his phone he saw it was a message from Arin, which contained an apology for what happened earlier and an invitation to come over if he could.

“I’m heading over to Arin’s house. I need to talk to him.”

Brian merely nodded as Dan started to leave. He then reached out and patted Dan’s shoulder, “Be careful.”

\---

Dan walked up to Arin and Suzy’s door, tapping on it with a soft knock. Arin answered the door and, after making eye contact, a moment of silence passed between the two of them.

Arin spoke up first, “You comin’ in?”

“Yeah.” Dan answered quickly as he snapped back to attention and followed Arin into the house.

They made their way to the living room where Dan saw Suzy sitting on the couch playing with Mimi. Suzy greeted Dan with a serious look as she put Mimi on the floor who soon darted away. Arin sat down next to her as Dan sat down opposite of them.

Suzy took the initiative of addressing the elephant in the room. “What were you talking about this morning Dan? You were acting really weird. Did you know what you were saying?”

Dan’s gaze was distant, that morning felt so long ago. “I, no, I…” He sighed as he shook his head. “Today’s been a hell of a day guys.”

“Well look I…” Arin tried figure out what he wanted to say. “I wanted to know if anything was up. I’m sorry I slammed the door in your face without hearing you out. I know you’re not the type of person who brings up certain things for no reason.”

Dan swallowed, wondering if it was a good thing to bring up what was on his mind. “You mean… Game Grumps?”

“...Yeah.”

Dan didn’t know what to say next. Just yesterday they were planning their line-up of games for the new year and now Arin can’t even mention the show by name. 

Arin continued, “Is there any particular reason why you’re bringing that up?”

“I just… woke up really confused this morning. I didn’t mean to fuck with you or freak you the hell out.”

“See Babe, I told you.” Suzy nudged Arin gently as she rubbed his leg. “Dan’s not the kind of guy to bring up shit just to be a jerk.” She looked up at Dan, “And try to warn us next time Dan! I was seriously about to cut you a new one.” She hugged Arin’s arm, “I don’t mess around when it comes to defending Arin.” She looked up at him, "I would cut a bitch for you Babe."

“Thanks Sweetie,” Arin smiled goofily as he gave Suzy a kiss.

Dan tried to smile at the moment, but he found that he couldn’t. Things were wrong and he had no idea why. Dan looked up, about to ask more questions, but stopped himself as he realized that the only thing it would accomplish was upsetting his friends. He decided to just retire for the night.

This time Suzy was the one to see him out. Noticing the look on his face, she looked up at him worriedly. “Dan, are you going to be alright?”

Dan honestly didn’t know how to answer her. “So me and Arin don’t co-host Game Grumps right?”

“Uh… Right.” 

“What about Steam Train?”

“Steam Train?”

“You know, Ross’ show.” Dan then wondered if there was a chance Ross knew what was going on and that just maybe he wasn’t the only one trapped in this bizarro world.

Suzy then uttered words that caused Dan’s blood to freeze. For a moment he swore he went deaf as he saw Suzy’s lips moving, but his brain refused to accept what she had to say. “I-I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

“Dan,” Suzy repeated slowly, “Who’s Ross?”

  
  
~END Chapter 1 of “The Disappearance of Ross O’Donovan”~


	2. The Danny Parable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan talks to Brian and sad times ensue. The exposition chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: You know, I initially had this fic idea because Ross is my second favorite of the grumps, but as I’m writing this I’m beginning to realize that I’m barely going to get to write Ross, *sigh*  
> That and I think I’m being really mean to Danny. Sorry fictional!Danny.
> 
> Also, thanks to Delibird and all my other fellow tumblr lovelies for proof-reading this fic for me :)

\---

Dan’s dreams that night were fuzzy and confusing.

_“Minor cranial inju... ”                   “...Wake... at any time”_

_“How did…appen?”       “...on’t cr…”_

_“You’re stay… all nigh…?”                      “...becau… ‘m worried…”_

_“Where’s…”          “Sleep…”_

_“I haven’t… him… awhile”       “Wake…  Da…”_

_“Physically… ine.”“...at’s… relief.”               “When ...e’s ready… ake up.”_

 

He couldn’t make sense of anything he heard, and the only thing he could see forms of shadows in a dark room. Gradually four figures came into focus, surrounding him. He recognized their faces as Arin and Barry on one side of him, and Holly and Suzy on the other. They seemed to be talking to each other, sparing him the occasional glance, and not realizing that he could see them.

Danny eventually looked up to see a fifth person on the end of his bed, with his back turned. Danny immediately recognized him and opened his mouth to call out his name, but gasped in surprise when he realized he couldn’t recall it. The figure started to blur as Danny’s head began pounding, desperately trying to remember that person’s name.

The figure then started to walk out of the room causing Danny to suddenly reach out for him in alarm; scared that he would soon disappear without a trace.

“ROSS!”

\---

Dan woke up in a cold sweat with his arm outstretched above him. As he collected himself he brought his arm back down to rub his eyes. Still trying to process the events of yesterday, Dan sat up on Brian’s couch as he tried to figure out what happened.

To his surprise, Brian walked into the room holding two steaming mugs of coffee as he took a seat in the armchair beside Dan. Wrapping himself in a blanket, Dan extended out his arm to accept one of the mugs and set it down on the table in front of him.

“How did it go last night?”

Dan realized Brian was asking about his meeting with Arin, the same meeting that only cemented Dan’s realization that his memories and experiences were not the same as everyone else’s. A thought that scared the shit out of him. “Brian, if I said something that literally made no logical sense, would you believe me?”

“Try me.”

“I think I’m stuck in an alternate universe.”

Brian was silent for a moment, which led Dan to study his expression. Did he believe him? Or was he figuring out a plan to call the men in white coats to come and take him away? Brian suddenly stood up and walked to the back of the room. Dan wondered if he should fear for the worst, only for Brian to return with a couple of books in hand.

Dan flipped through the books, which had titles such as: _Physics of the Impossible_ , _The Hidden Reality_ , and _Fringe Science_. “Does this mean you believe me?”

“Science dictates that it could be a possibility.”

“But how did I get here from my universe? And why?”

Brian shrugged as he sipped his coffee.

“You’re way too calm about this.”

“Would you rather I was one of those scientists that wanted to cut you up to find the answer?”

Dan shuddered at the thought as his cell phone chimed with the indication of a text. He swiftly checked it only to see a bunch of corrupted text on the screen instead of a message:

 

D̛á̶̢͢͞ņ̶̶n̷̵̷̨͘y̴͢!̷̧͠͠ ̴̸̛͢͠Y̢͏̸o̶͘͜͡ư̸'̛҉̀r̷̴̶͘͜e̴̛͟͜ ̶̧s̡̢͟͡t̸̀́͞ư̸c̴̶͡҉͏k͠͏͢ ͘͘͘i̴̷͝ǹ̡̛͡ ̴̡͜a͟͝ ̧̕͟͢w̧͝e͠͡͠͠i̢̡̕͞r̨̡҉d̷̀͝ ͟҉a̷d͏͘o̵̶͢͞b̴̡̀͜è̷̷̛ ̵̀͏̸͘p̷̕͢͢r̢̀͢͢è͟͠m͢͠i̡͘e͘͢ŕ̢̡̕͟e͞ ̛͜͠p̵͟͝ŗ̴͘ò̸̡̡̢j̴̷͡ę͝͡҉̛ć̷t̶̢͢ ̶́͜͞w̷̡͘͡ó͘͝r̨̡͟ļ̶͢͞d̢͝!̴͝ ́͜͞F̵̢́í͞ń̢d͠ ̢͟͠B҉̸à̶͞͠͞r̶̀͞r̡̕͞ý͢͠ ̨̡à̧n͢d͏̴̸ ̛́͏̧f̵͞͡ì̴̴͢x͘͝ ͡͞i̡͞t͏͢!̷̶̧͝ ̶̴̨̧I͢͡҉ ͜҉f̧͠ơ̵͘͟r͝͞g̀ờţ́ ̨͜͜͞w̷͘̕͞͠h̷̕͏á͘͘͠t̷̕͟͟ ҉̶͟I҉̸͝ ̡͜a͠҉͏͢͠c̵̸͢t̀̕͟͡͠u̡͜͏̵͠a̴̛͘͜l̛̀l̶͞͝y̷̢̕͢͝ ̸w̸̧̡̧͘ŕ̡͡ơ͏̢̡͝t̷̡̀͟͡e̡͘.̶͘͟ ̡̛̕s̶c̶̢r̡̧͜͡á̛͜͏͟m̡͞͝b́͝͞l͡҉̨҉e͡͞ ͏͏͏̛ţ̡̕͝e̕̕͢x̛̛́t̸͜ ̸̶͘͟w̨̛͘o͏̢͞r̴͜k̡̨͢s̶͘҉̶ ͏̵̶̴̛ş̡҉ǫ́̕͠ ̛͞m̷̀͢u҉̶͞c̵͢h̴́̕ ̸̷͝b̷̴ę̷͠t̶͠t̡͞è̢̨̛͜ŕ ͡͏i͏̡̨̛͜n͏̴̢͢͡ ͘͜͞͞g͜ò̡͝o̸̕g̛̀͜l̨e̵̕͢d̨̛͟o͠͡ç̸̛

 

Checking his other texts, Dan confirmed that the only issue was with that particular message and realized that even the sender of the message was corrupted as well. He was about to delete the text when another message popped up, still glitched, but had some legible words.

 

B̧̛ri̧ng͞ ͡a̴̕l̨l̛ ̷͞t̸̀he͘ g͞r̛͠u̶m͟͠p͢s̸ t̨o̶ge͜͞ţh̸e͘r̸̢

̀͘á̢n̶̨҉d y̨͟o҉u̶͞'͏ll͢ f͞i̴͘n̕͠d ͟͟y̧o̢ù͜r͝ w͡á̷y̵ ̸̀h̴ome̶

 

He attempted to read it out loud, getting Brian’s attention, while trying to figure out what the strange message meant. “Can you tell me more please?” Dan asked his phone directly as he tried to type out his message only for his phone to refuse to send it.

“What does this mean?” Dan tried asking again as he felt himself growing my anxious. After a couple more failed text attempts, Dan’s phone died causing him to curse in frustration.

Brian just stared at him until he was ready to speak again.

“It said something like, if I bring all the grumps together I can go home.” Dan mused as he walked to the back of the room to charge his phone. “Couldn’t be more cryptic if it tried.”

“Let’s note what we know so far.” Brian suggested. "Your memories obviously aren't congruent with anyone else's and this message came from your universe."

"But what does it mean though."

"Another question is, what kind of alternate universe is this? If you came here straight from your universe that raises the issue of displacement; what happened to the 'you' that was originally here?"

Dan sat down as he thought about what Brian said. He shuddered to think about an alternate version of himself stuck in his life; though, he figured, that Dan couldn't be causing as much of a panic as he was.

"The other option is, this universe is still your universe. However, something major changed for everyone except you."

"Are you serious? What made you come up with that theory?"

Brian pointed to his phone. "That text message. I doubt phone service crosses realities, plus that garbled text seems more like interference than anything. The fact that only the most vague message got through also tells us that too much detail about your situation isn't allowed."

"Allowed? What?"

"Look at it this way, you're not crazy."

Hearing those words from Brian made Dan feel a little better; however, he was still just as confused as ever.

"Can you pinpoint the change between this world and yours? The variable that made this reality and your reality diverge?"

Dan thought about Brian's question for a moment. There was no more Game Grumps, that was the first thing he thought of, then there was the fact that he lost both his home and roommate; however, those two things didn't account for all the changes he encountered. Only one change came to mind that felt like the tipping point of the world turning to shit.

"Goddammit Ross."

"Hmm?"

Before Dan could answer, his phone rang with another new text:

 

̷Yơ͝u̡ ̕͞ơ҉̶n̵̕l͢y̵ ̴h͟a҉͜ve̴͜͡ ̵a̧͝b̴͘͢o̸͟ų̸t҉ 2̴ ͏d̡̛̕a̶͝y̡s͠ ̡l̡̀͟è̶͝f҉̕t̵

 

"Two days…" Dan muttered as he mind processed the thought. "Wait! What do you mean two days? Two days until what?!" He yelled at his phone. "Two days until what?!"

Brian calmly took the phone from Dan as he read the message for himself. "It sounds like a deadline."

"A deadline for what?"

Brian sighed. "For you to fix the world."

"Oh _good_."

\---

Dan went out for a walk as he tried to make sense of the weird clues his text message buddy was leaving him and all the facts he and Brian gathered. Worst case scenario, if the message counted today then that meant Dan only had until tomorrow night to, apparently, get everyone together; and that would somehow make everything right again. Easier said than done.

He tried calling Arin, but failed to get an answer; Dan wondered if that was on purpose. He considered outright confronting any of them in person, but after yesterday he wasn't sure if Arin and Suzy would be thrilled to comply with any requests of 'bringing the band back together'. He wasn't even sure where he could find Barry, or if he was still in the city, much less the state.

Dan shuddered, the fear blooming within him of the possibility that he may have unknowingly screwed up his only chance of setting things right again. Arin, Suzy, and Barry, how could he get them together, and on such short notice?

Then there was the question of Ross himself.

Was he really the reason everything fell apart?

Without Ross there would be no Steam Train. Dan remembered that the time when Steam Train was about to make its debut was when Game Grumps went through its major transition period. A terrible coincidence, sure, but without it wouldn’t it leave more time to focus on Game Grumps instead of spelling out its demise altogether? There was also the fact that they weren’t considered a part of Polaris; could that be traced back to Ross too?

Dan rubbed his forehead, his recap thinking was doing little to ease his thoughts. He thought back to the cryptic hint given to him earlier: “Two days to get the grumps together.” Did it really mean everyone? And how on earth would that get him back home?

Suddenly a streetlamp flickered to life above him. Was it that late already? His heartbeat fluttered as he checked his phone again. He was running out of time. He stopped under the lamp as he started to voice his thoughts out loud.

"This is so not funny. How on earth can you have a 'Wonderful Life' plot and force someone else to go through its hell? Only you could fuck up the most clichè Christmas-plot ever." Dan sighed with a chuckle, "I miss you, you know. What I wouldn't give just to hear you interrupt me as usual or call me nonsensical names.”

He felt something in his eyes so he reached up his sleeve to wipe it away. As he brought his arm back down he realized his sleeve was wet and that his laugh from earlier was becoming more distorted. The feeling in his eyes returned as he buried his face in his forearm and grit his teeth. “Goddammit…” Dan choked out as tears started to roll down his cheeks. “Ross…”

  
  
~END Chapter 2~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I was wondering what's the saddest way to make Dan say "Goddammit Ross" and I may have found it.  
> Thank goodness I finally finished writing all the exposition crap. Sorry it got a bit boring there, but now I get to write the real story of this fic, woo!


	3. No Such Thing as a Perfect Vacuum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Arin have a chat. Things finally look up for the poor guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Obviously I’m going to get a lot of details wrong; but that’s ok right? I mean, it would just be creepy if I got every tiny detail correct wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t it?  
> Also, I was prematurely excited it seems, there will be a bit more exposition this chapter; however, things are finally looking up for fictional!Danny.

Dan awoke the next morning from a dreamless sleep. It was a less-than-pleasant beginning to his day as he felt more tired than he did the previous night, and had to steady himself as he almost face-planted off of Brian's couch.

His eyes fell to his phone as it laid on the table across from him. Today was the last day in his quest to set the world right and he was well aware that he had just as much progress in that task as he did when he woke up in this strange reality.

Dan was about to check the strange message on his phone again when the screen lit up with a text from Arin, asking him to meet with him outside. Dan was surprised at Arin's sudden initiative and rushed to see him. As soon as he walked out the door he immediately made eye-contact with Arin, but failed to come up with something to say.

"Morning Dan."

"Hey."

"Want to go swinging?"

"What?" Dan immediately asked.

Arin then pointed out a small playground in the distance and started walking towards it, motioning for Dan to follow him. The two of them took a seat at the swing set, too small for either of them, as Arin began rocking his seat back and forth and Dan struggled to figure out what he wanted to say.

"Sorry I missed your call yesterday."

"Oh. Yeah."

"You know, Brian called me and asked me to meet you; of course, he did it in the most threatening way possible." Arin joked.

Dan let out a short chuckle at the thought, but still felt the weight of his situation on his back.

Arin frowned in concern as he put his hand on Dan's shoulder. "Dan, what's going on?"

 _"Nothing, save for the impossible task of reuniting all of us, one of which apparently no longer exists. And then there's the deadline I have to meet in order to do it, just so I can fulfill my sudden responsibility at fixing the world; because that's a thing for some reason."_ Dan mentally yelled to himself. Being deep in thought, he failed to answer Arin's question as he continued to sit on the swings with an unreadable look on his face.

"Dan!" Arin repeated as he clapped to get the other man's attention.

"Whoa what!" Dan blurted out as he was snapped out of his current thoughts. He turned to look at Arin in surprise. "Oh, um… ehhh~ I'm cool."

Arin laughed as he quoted him, "'Ehh~'? When did you turn into your father?"

Dan chuckled as he started speaking with an accent, "Ehh~ I don't know Arin. I guess ehh~ It runs in the ehh~ family."

Arin started laughing harder while Dan followed suit. Eventually they quieted down prompting Arin to speak up. "So I gave it a lot of thought."

"Gave what a lot of thought?" Dan stared at him in confusion.

"I could, possibly, see a future where we co-host a youtube show that may or may not have been popular some time ago."

"Wait what?" Dan snapped to him with his full attention. "Wait…are you serious? You mean," He hesitated, unsure if he should say the name out loud. "Game Grumps?"

Arin gave a half-shrug as the smile on his face grew distant. "I mean, some people still ask me when the channel's coming back and it would be a good way to promote Starbomb."

"But…are you sure you're ok with this?"

Arin failed to answer right away, causing Dan to analyze the current situation. Even if he failed to meet the sketchy deadline of the way for him to return to the reality he was from, could he possibly continue to live in this world? He had the benefit of knowing what Game Grumps would become, or, at least, has the potential to become; and, eventually, his life could return to the way it was. He turned to look at Arin, who was looking at him and waiting for an answer. Dan opened his mouth to give one, but found that he couldn't will himself to do so.

"So uh…Suzy said you were looking for some guy named Ross?"

The sudden change of subject took Dan by surprise. "Huh?"

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about RubberNinja would you?"

Dan's eyes widened as he immediately jumped up. "What?! He-You...You know him?!"

"More or less yeah. We were friends back in my Newgrounds days and we talk off and on. Haven't heard from him in awhile because of his job or something I think. You know, he's actually the one who told me about you guys, Ninja Sex Party."

Dan felt like smacking himself in the head, how could he forget something so obvious. Without Ross, he and Arin wouldn't have met so it had to be that the guy wasn't completely gone from the world. The question was, where on earth could he be?

"When's the last time you heard from him?"

Arin looked up and whistled. "Oh man, definitely quite a few years ago; maybe around '08 or '09? He used to come to town for the summer cons, but I haven't heard from him in awhile."

"'Come to town'?"

"Yeah dude, he lives in Australia."

Dan felt that sinking feeling again; of course Ross would be as far away as possible at a time like this. Was there no hope at all for him to go home? Were those weird text messages just there to taunt him?

Arin scrolled through his phone, "Oh, he's in town actually."

"What. Are you serious?"

"According to his twitter he came in a couple of days ago to visit his fiancée."

"So he's here? Now?"

"I guess?" Arin shrugged.

Dan clutched the phone in his pocket. Maybe he still had a chance after all.

\---

Dan waited down the street of Polaris studios trying to stay out of sight of the security guards. He paced back and forth, wondering how he would approach Holly without seeming completely insane. As he thought about what he was currently doing, looking for someone who probably doesn't know him only to ask about their fiancée who also doesn't know him, Dan realized he wasn't completely sure if he wasn't already breaching insane territory, but that was beside the point.

Suddenly, waves of employees began leaving the building. Dan realized that as they were approaching the holiday season, the Polaris employees probably had shortened hours. As he scanned the crowd, hoping Holly would show up, he wondered what the best way to approach the situation would be.

 _"Hi, Holly? You don't know me, but I was just wondering if I could talk to your fiancée; it's important. You're engaged to an Australian animator named Ross right?"_ Dan thought to himself. _"Yeah, that's not creepy and insane at all."_

He realized that he was at his last limits. Just the fact that he was out here on a limb just for the slim chance that he might be able to fix everything after all proved it. As he was musing to himself, a familiar face worked her way through the crowd, instantly grabbing Dan's attention.

"HOLLY!" He yelled out, grabbing everyone's attention.

She looked up at him as he ran over to greet her. "Um…yes? Can I help you?"

Just before Dan could reach her, the security guard from the other recognized him and left his post to detain him. "I thought we agreed you weren't allowed on the premises, Sir."

"Well, wait…" Dan mumbled nervously as he kept his gaze on the person behind the guard. "Please. I just need to speak to-"

Suddenly, the world went quiet. It was as if time slowed to a stop as one last person left the building and started walking towards them. His head was down, his pace was slow, and the look on his face was uncharacteristically melancholy; but there was no mistaking it.

 _"I found him. I actually found him."_ Dan smiled in relief, "Ross."

**  
**  
~END Chapter 3~ 


	4. “If You Quit Now, All Unsaved Changes will be Lost”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan vs. Adobe Premiere, goes as well as you'd think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Confession time: I had initially played around this fic’s premise months ago, but I had no idea who could be a ‘big good’ to help Dan. (Markiplier? Graham?) Then Kevin joined the grump crew and I suddenly had a hero. Kevin saved this fic.

Dan lost himself in the moment as he felt tears of relief pricking his eyes. He always hated seeing Ross sad, but just to have him physically standing here, **existing** ; that alone was enough to refuel Dan's hope that he wasn't crazy, and that he still had a chance to make it back home.

He was shaken from his thoughts when the security guard from earlier twisted his arm behind his back and separated him from Holly and Ross. Dan cried out in pain as the guard started leading him away. He struggled as he desperately fought to keep Holly and Ross in his line of vision; calling out to them in a panic.

Ross took the initiative to approach him, causing the security guard to pause for a moment. "What do you need from Holly?"

Dan swallowed, surprised at the sudden turn of events. "I… uh… actually wanted to talk to you."

"Okay…?" Ross replied carefully, giving Dan a cautious look. "Why?"

"Trust me, it's a long story. One that you wouldn't believe even if I told you."

"You'd be surprised at what I'd believe."

 _"That's true. Good to know this is still Ross,"_ Dan realized. He was still not sure what to tell him, dimension crossing seemed too crazy for anyone to believe, even Ross. Dan decided to try his luck anyway. "What if I said I was from some other reality where you lived here and we host a show with Arin, Barry, and Suzy where we play games and make jokes for a living?"

Ross paused for a moment, giving Dan a flutter of hope. "...Ok, I don't believe that."

" _Goddammit Ross_." Dan sighed a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Well, it's true, and I need your help to send me back there, or fix this world until it's like my reality, or something like that. All this continuum bullshit is really confusing."

"Listen man, I don't really know you. I'm from out of town visiting my fiancèe for Christmas and, while alternate realities and time-space conundrums are cool and all, I think you might just be confused."

"I know it sounds crazy, but I just need your help; please! I do know you Ross, I-"

Ross started backing up in hesitation as he looked to the security guard who started closing in.

"Wait, Ross! I know you have hundreds of unplayed games on your Steam account. I know that you used to have night terrors. I know that you animate cartoons about games, like Pokemon and Minecraft-"

Ross stopped in his tracks then walked towards Dan again. "Say that last part again."

"What? Pokemon and Minecraft?"

"I never made an animation for those games. I haven't done anything like that in years. I thought about it sure, but I haven't had the time." He stared at Dan directly, "What are those animations about?"

"Uh… You made one for your first impression of Minecraft and your Pokemon one was a parody of the future of the franchise. I think?"

A silent moment passed as Ross continued to stare at Dan. He then looked up and smiled for the first time since Dan saw him, "Ok, I believe you."

\---

After Holly called off the security guard, the three of them took a seat at a small cafe as Dan told them the whole story of how he woke up in this reality that was not congruent with his own. He also told them about the theories he and Brian came up with regarding his predicament and about the weird instructions he received about how he could set things right again.

"...So it's either something happened to alter this world except you," Ross clarified as he drew a stick figure version of Dan with scribbly arrows rotating around him. "Or you were straight up dropped here from your alternate world."

"I guess." Dan sighed as he watched Ross continue to draw on the cafe's napkins. "I don't know what a dildo with my hairstyle has anything to do with that though."

Ross just chuckled as Holly tried to make sense of Dan's situation. "So this world to you is like some "It's a Wonderful Life" movie scenario; except instead of your life, it's Ross'?"

Dan clapped excitedly. "That's exactly what I thought!"

"Aww… I was hoping it was more of a Doctor Who thing." Ross pouted. "Like we had to cross dimensions to keep the universe stable and I now have finger guns." He started shaking his hand as if trying to trigger something, but to no avail.

"What? You always lose me when you talk about Doctor Who."

"You don't watch Doctor Who?" Ross' face lit up in genuine surprise. "You should man, it's a great show."

"Ross! We're getting off topic!"

"How different is your world? Do you have stars? Planets? A giant, floating obelisk that you don't find weird?"

"It's not that different. We work on a Youtube channel called Game Grumps with Arin, you host a show on there called Steam Train-"

"Choo choo!" Ross cut in. "I bet that's my catch phrase."

Dan slowly continued, used to such interruptions. "And you and Holly are married."

“Did you hear that Holly? We’re married in this guy’s alternate universe!”

“There's a chance it might be a mirror universe Ross.”

“You make a good point there. You think I have a goatee?”

“If you could grow one then it really is a mirror universe.” Holly replied without missing a beat as she poked him playfully. Ross just laughed hysterically at her reply.

"The question is, when and how did things change? I mean, clearly Game Grumps ended prematurely, and you don't even seem to live in the country anymore Ross."

"Well I missed my chance for citizenship a couple years back." Ross recalled. "At the same time I was also offered a steady animation gig at the TV channel I already worked for, which prevented me from devoting more time in my own independent projects." He took on a more regretful tone. "From the sound of it, the 'me' that you know seems to be in a completely different boat."

"Well, you… or he, technically, doesn't get videos out everyday, but, you're proud of what you have; and you deserve to be too."

Ross grinned; it was a smile Dan was used to seeing, but he had a feeling that this Ross didn't smile like that very often.

"Well then, let's figure out how to fix the universe!" Ross spoke up excitedly, eliciting the same excitement from Holly and Dan, "...What did you have to do again?" His question made Holly and Dan's expressions immediately drop.

"Goddammit Ross! Don't pull out some heroic fucking phrases and then pull the rug out from under us!"

Dan's annoyance caused both Holly and Ross to openly laugh. "And here I thought 'Goddammit Ross' was my thing." Holly grinned.

"It's legitimately a catchphrase in my world," Dan replied with joking exasperation. "You started it, I continued it, Ross proved it, and there's even a T-Shirt for it."

"Yeah!" Ross cheered as Holly shook her head with a smile.

Dan pulled out his phone as he tried to decipher the strange text message again, wondering if he could extract any new clues from it. "According to my mysterious guide, I have to get all the grumps together and somehow this will show me the way back home. There's me and Arin, and now you Ross, there's Suzy who should be with Arin, and then Barry." Dan rubbed his forehead as he remembered his last encounter with Barry. "Only problem is, I have no idea where Barry is."

"Barry Kramer?" Holly spoke up. "I know where he is. He's in town working on some stuff at Polaris, I can get a hold of him if you want."

Dan smiled widely, wondering on his luck was able to turn around so fast. "I could just kiss you right now Holly."

"Hey, hey, hey; you'll have to go through me first."

"At this point, I'd even kiss you Ross."

Ross fist-pumped in the air jokingly as the three of them got up from the table. Ross took the receipt and went to pay the bill as Holly and Dan stayed behind.

Dan looked over at Holly, "It's probably too late to ask this but, how are you guys ok with all the things I told you? I barely believe myself."

"Honestly if I was going through what you're going through I'd probably check myself into therapy for a psychotic break; but the things you say and the way you act around us, it seems natural to you doesn't it?"

 _"I almost forgot how insightful Holly was."_ Dan thought as Holly continued.

"Besides," She turned her gaze to Ross, who was waiting at the counter for the cashier; "It's been a long time since I've seen Ross genuinely excited about something. If what you said is true and Ross loves what he does, then I'd say it's worth the risk."

Dan pondered over her words for a moment. "Thank you Holly," He replied softly, and he truly meant it.

"I do have one question for you though. When you first heard that Ross did exist in this world, why did you immediately think to look for me?"

"Huh." Dan answered matter-of-factly, "You know, I never thought about it. Arin told me Ross tweeted he was in town visiting his fiancée and I automatically assumed it was you. Boy, it would have been awkward if I was wrong wouldn't it?" He laughed.

Holly's smile grew brighter as Ross returned to the table. "C'mon let's go!"

\---

They arrived back at the studio as Holly told to the boys to wait in the car. Dan was perfectly fine with that suggestion while Ross followed her in anyway. They both returned to the car quickly enough with Barry in tow. Barry looked fearful at the situation, Dan couldn't say he could blame him. "Hey Barry." Dan greeted him with a short wave.

"What's going on?" He asked quickly as Ross pushed him into the car.

"We're kidnapping you!" Ross answered, in a tone that sounded excited, more excited than he should be.

"What?!" Barry turned to Dan, "Dan, what the hell is happening? Did they kidnap you too? Who is this guy?"

Holly started the engine as she turned back to Dan, showing more patience with the scene than expected. "So where are we going now?"

"Uh…" Dan wondered as he tried to look at his phone for advice. "To Arin's house I guess?"

\---

Dan quickly texted Arin asking if he could stop by with Ross. Arin was confused, but agreed, and they all arrived no sooner than when Dan received his reply. They all crowded outside the door as Suzy greeted them, clearly surprised that the number of people they were expecting did not match the amount of people outside their door. She let them in anyway as Dan's cell phone rang with a new garbled message.  


G̵o̕̕ ̵͢t̀o̶͟ t̡̀͟h͞͞e ͡͏ć͘o̴͏̷m҉p̷͡u̶͟t̴̕er

  
Dan wasted no time as he immediately followed the text's instructions and headed straight to Arin's office, formerly the grump space. Everyone else decided to just follow him despite his strange behavior. Arin was already there, sitting at his desk, when everyone else suddenly burst into the room.

"Dan, what the _hell_ is going on?" Suzy asked sharply, her patience beginning to wear thin. Holly started looking uncomfortable as well, while Barry just looked down and Ross walked around the room in childlike curiosity.

"Dan…the hell?" Was all Arin could get out, stunned at the sudden intrusion.

"I'm sorry," was all Dan could say as he immediately went to the computer.

"Don't worry everybody, Danny here is trying to fix the world." Ross announced to the room. "Hey Arin, it's been awhile."

"Hey Ross," Arin replied, trying to process his thoughts. "Who else did you bring to my house?" He asked in a firm, accusing tone.

Ross continued, obliviously. "Well this is my lovely fiancée, Holly." He motioned to her as she waved from the corner of the room. "And this is Barry, another person Dan needs to help fix the world."

"Barry." Arin greeted him as he noticed his presence.

"Arin. Suzy."

"How's New York Barry?" Suzy asked in an unreadable tone.

"Uh, you know, colder than here. Still big."

"Why didn't you tell us you were in town?"

"I wasn't going to be here long. I was actually leaving town tonight, until these guys kidnapped me and brought me here. I thought they were with you."

Suzy shook her head at Barry's comment. Ross stood looking proud at what he had done as Barry started to back away from him.

"AUGH!" Dan groaned as he started shouting at his phone. "What am I looking for on the computer? What am I supposed to do?!"

The room was silent as no one had any idea how to respond to him. Dan bowed his head until it touched the computer monitor. He was so confused, he somehow found everyone and got them together, was there really no way for him to get home? Was it all for nothing?

Suddenly, the familiar sound of "Luigi's Ballad" cut through the thick silence. The vibration in Dan's hand indicated that it was coming from his phone. Looking down at the number, he saw it was garbled in a similar way as his previous weird text messages He drew a breath as he answered the call. "H-Hello?"

"Danny!" A static-filled, but still understandable voice came through. "It...Kevin!"

"Kevin? KEVIN?" Dan answered as he grew excited. "Is-is it really you?"

"Dan… been trying… contact…" Kevin replied through the phone's interference. "Trying…get you back. Are you…computer?"

Dan turned his attention back to the computer which now had Adobe Premiere open and loading. He looked back at everyone else wondering if any of them activated the program, but their blank, confused stares told him that it wasn't their doing.

"Dan, did you come to my house just to use Premiere?" Arin asked, the exasperation in his tone becoming clear.

"Are you going to reprogram the world using Adobe?" Ross excitedly grabbed Dan's shoulders as he tried to peek at the screen.

"What? No! I don't know!" Dan announced, unsure of which question to answer. "Kevin, what am I doing here?" The static interference on his phone only increased in intensity. "Kevin? Kevin?!"

"Who's Kevin?"   "I'm getting really worried about Dan."   "Is he feeling alright?"  
Were some of the things the others whispering as Dan kept his focus solely on the call. Eventually, the static from the call became so high pitched he ripped his phone away from his ear instinctually.

"Hey, what's Premiere doing?" Barry commented, directing everyone's attention back to the computer.

The program opened to a strange project as multiple slides kept being added despite no one manning the controls of the computer.

"What's wrong with your Adobe bro?" Ross jokingly asked Arin.

"I don't fuckin' know!" Arin sputtered. "First you all come into my house and now you want to accuse me of Adobe's weird shit? I haven't even used Premiere in ages."

"Is it because you never learned how?"

"Shut up Ross! God, you never change!"

Ross just cackled, "I missed you too dude."

Dan was oblivious to the bonding moment occurring behind him as he trying to figure out the rapid succession of images that kept suddenly appearing in the project before him. The event also piqued Barry's interest as he stared at the screen as well. Barry took the initiative to play the sequences and light blue-colored text started scrolling across the screen.

"Danny. There isn't much time. I'm guessing you got everyone together. Do you have access to the project that's open? You need to close all the sequences in this project, then close this program and restore the backup. That will close this world and bring you home."

Dan read the instructions Kevin left him with a mix of excitement and confusion. "What am I supposed to do? What do I do?"

"Whoever this is is telling you to delete these," Barry highlighted the first three sequences in the project's timeline, "Then to restart the program."

"Oh; that's not hard is it?"

"No."

"And that will bring me home? That's it?"

"I…guess?"

Dan cleared the sequences without much thought and went to close the program. A strange message then popped up on the screen: "Project: '#122314WReW' will be terminated. A backup will be loaded the next time you open this program" and the choice between 'OK' and 'Cancel' were presented. Dan hovered the mouse cursor over the OK button, but found himself hesitating at the last second. He looked around the room at everyone, analyzing their expressions.

Holly looked hopeful, while at the same time, confused.  
Suzy looked concerned for him and Arin every time she glanced his way.  
Barry was focused on the odd Premiere program, trying to figure out its secrets.  
Arin's expression was unreadable, looking like a mix between seriousness and curiosity.  
Ross just looked excited, awaiting Dan's next move.

Dan turned back to the computer, about to make his choice, when Arin tapped him on the shoulder.

"Dan, you never gave me an answer. Would you be willing to bring back Game Grumps with me?"

He paused in thought for a moment. What would happen to this world once he "reset" it? Would it really fix itself or would it go back to the way it was before he started disturbing it's homeostasis? Was there a reason he was "sent" here in the first place?

Dan looked at Arin, now able to read the emotions on his face plain as day. Trepidation with a glimmer of hope. He remembered Holly's message from earlier, _"If it makes him happy, it's worth the risk."_  

Dan then turned away from the computer, slid his phone in his pocket, and looked up; his decision was made. "Arin, I'm sorry. I can't bring back Game Grumps with you."

Arin just answered with a nod. His face resumed an unreadable expression, but he couldn't meet Dan's eyes.

"Because we both already host Game Grumps, along with everyone else; and we love it. That's how it's supposed to be." Dan smiled as he turned back to the computer and reopened the program.

The world seemed to spin as everything became monochromatic. Dan looked around at everyone's surprised looks as his sense of balance threatened to give way. The last thing he saw were Arin and Ross' faces before the world grew dark.

 

 

~END Chapter 4~

 

 


	5. Media Pending...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Kevin talk. Some things may get _cut_ out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Everything will make sense in time.

_“I’m stuck in an alternate universe.”      “Science dictates its a possibility.”_

_"I could see a future where we co-host…"_

_“Dan, who’s Ross?”     "If Ross loves what he does, then it's worth-"_

_"Did they kidnap you too?"                      "...reprogram the world using Adobe?"_

_"...fuck up the most clichè Christmas-plot ever?"_

_"I would…for Arin."        "Arin, I'm sorry..."_

 

Danny hit the floor with an audible *thud* and opened his eyes to a dark room. He was too dizzy and confused to immediately put together where he was, but as he sat up two familiar creatures made their way to him and started rubbing up to him affectionately. 

"Mochi? Mimi?" Danny immediately recognized them as he tried to look around the dark room. He knew he was in Arin and Suzy's house, but what happened before then? He reset everything with that weird Premiere project, and now he seemed to be in the same place, save for the fact that it was apparently night time now. Did it not work after all?

"Hello?" He called out, but no one answered him. Apparently no one was home and everyone else from earlier wasn't there either.

Danny got up slowly, trying to navigate through the darkness to a nearby light switch, when he suddenly heard a steady knock. Muscle memory brought him to the front of the house as he wondered if he should answer the door. Realizing that he was alone in the house, Danny decided that after all the risks he took over the past few days, this was nothing. He slowly pulled the door open to see Kevin standing on the porch wide-eyed and concerned.

Danny mirrored his surprised expression for a brief moment before pulling him into a fierce hug. "It worked? It worked!"

Kevin gave a muffled reply, "I missed you too Danny."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it buddy." Danny released him from his embrace. "Fuck me, this is such a relief! Was this really real? Did all this really happen?"

Kevin shrugged as he curved his lips inward, looking at the ground.

"I'm just glad it's all over."

"Well, about that… " Kevin replied cautiously as he kept his eye on the time. "There's actually a lot of things we still need to do. First we need to go to the grump space, the Christmas party is almost over."

"Wait…are you serious?" Danny replied, confounded and exasperated. "Are you serious?!"

\---

The two of them sat in Kevin's car as they made their way to the studio. Kevin hummed along to his car radio tunes while Danny tried to get his facts straight.

"So, you brought me back, in **time**!?" 

"It was only by a couple of days. Usually when there's a corrupted project, it's best that you go back to the point before it went crazy."

"Oh yeah, no biggie. Just fuckin' casually talk about bending the rules of the time-space continuum!"

"It's only under special circumstances. You wouldn't believe how long it took to render."

Danny sighed in resignation. "So where, or I guess _when_ , are we exactly? And why?"

"Right now it's the night of the christmas party, you remember that right?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with everything that happened?"

"Tonight is the night that the world changed. Well, changed for everyone except you."

"And here I thought for the past couple of days that I was just going insane. But wait, what made me so special? Ross was the one that 'vanished,' why was I the only one that stayed the same?"

"About that," Kevin paused as Danny eagerly awaited an answer. "I don't know."

"Fuckin' goddammit. So where are we? Square one?" 

"Well, I know what happened to you, I just don't know who did all of this and why they did it."

A thought sparked in Danny's mind. "Oh! Is that why you brought me back in time? So we can catch the guy who changed everything and stop it from happening?"

"Yeah. Except it has to be you that stops them."

"What? Why me?"

Just as Danny asked the question, they arrived at their destination. Kevin started getting out of the car and turned to Danny, "You're going to have to wait in the car; it should only take an hour or so. Make sure no one sees you, you don't need a paradox right now, at least not yet." 

"Don't just fuckin' evade my question Kevin!" 

"Good luck Danny!" He smiled with a wave. 

Danny yelled, "Kevin! Don't give me this vague bullshit! I'm starting to regret being happy to see you!" 

Kevin stuck his head back into the car with a pout.

"Aww…goddammit, you know I can't be mad at that face."

"I know." Kevin answered with a smile.

 --- 

Danny sat in the car, trying to stay out of sight as various people started leaving the building. He thought back to what Kevin told him, that one sole person was responsible for everything that happened, and tossed around theories as to who it might be.

Ross was his first suspect. The world taking a dramatic turn because of his absence? Sounds like something he would fuck up. But why?

Then there was Barry, or even Kevin. Both had amazing skill in Adobe Premiere; perhaps enough to edit reality? Could Barry have been acting in the other reality and knew what was going on the whole time? Or was Kevin the one acting and that's why he knew how to fix everything? Danny wasn't sure what to think anymore. 

There was also the chance that the responsible party was a complete stranger altogether. Could it be someone who just wanted to screw with them? Highly unlikely, but Danny couldn't help but hope all of this was either an accident or the fault of some stranger. Why would one of his friends want to change the world so drastically?

His thoughts shifted to an even crazier possibility: was this all _his_ doing? After all, not even Kevin understood why he was the only one trapped in a different reality with knowledge of this one. Had he been the one to fuck everything up somehow?

Before Danny could consider further possibilities, Kevin knocked on the passenger window causing him to jump.

"Everyone's gone home. You ready?"

\---

Danny followed Kevin into the grump space, stopping suddenly as Kevin signaled for him to stay quiet as they hid in the back of the office room.

"Whoever it is should be here any minute." Kevin whispered. 

"And what am I supposed to do exactly?"

"Wait until they start publishing the project and then hit cancel." 

"Sounds easy enough, I bet it's not though."

Kevin shrugged, "Well that's all there is to it. I guess you can try to make sure they don't start up the project again."

"Right. Got it."

"Oh, and Dan-" Kevin was cut off as both of them heard sounds of someone walking down the hall. They scrambled to hide while trying to keep a vantage point of the entrance of the room. Soon the door creaked open, causing the warm glow of the hallway light to pour in. The intruder crept in quietly, focused on his task at hand.

Danny froze, instantly recognizing who it was despite the darkness of the room obscuring his view. _"Wait, no…"_ he thought, _"Why?"_

Danny got up, ready to confront the figure, until Kevin grabbed his wrist. "Dan, you have to wait until he finishes the project." 

"But, this is impossible," he answered absently, keeping his gaze on the person working at the computer. " **Arin** did this?"

\---

Danny found himself lost in thought again. Whether it was because his mind didn't want to accept the truth or because he didn't want to have to be the one responsible for fixing everything, he wasn't sure. However, there was one thing for certain. He still didn't know **why**.

Why did this happen?  
Why didn't he change along with the rest of the world?  
Why was he so desperate to change it back?

Dan paused at that last thought. "Why was he so desperate to change it back?" Of course he wanted to change everything back! Everything was wrong in that world whereas here, everything is the way it's supposed to be, and everyone was happier. 

…Right?

Clearly Arin wasn't, given that he's currently rewriting the fabric of reality. But why? Was he upset? Was he that desperate for some kind of change? Any kind of change?

Then again, it hadn't just been any random change; it was an entire crossroads of difference for Ross' life. Was Arin really mad at Ross? However, looking back, Ross' career seemed to have been rising significantly, plus he still had Holly at his side. If he didn't know any better, it seemed that Ross' life had only improved in the other world.

Suddenly, the rush of an epiphany raced through Dan's mind. None of them were worse off in that other world, in fact, they all seemed to have had more accomplishments there. The only difference was that there was no more Game Grumps. Was that the sole price to pay? Was it worth it?

Dan knew that Game Grumps couldn't last forever. Eventually one day they would run out of games to play, jokes to make, or stories to tell. Someday they'll all move on from the show onto other artistic endeavors, such was life. He had been involved with enough projects and bands to understand the life cycle of creativity, and it was easier that way. Game Grumps was no different.

That thought was bullshit and he knew it.

Game Grumps was a major part of his life, hell it was his life, practically. It wasn't just a job he enjoyed, but didn't give a second thought to at the end of the day. It was a part of him just as much as he was a part of it, the only person who was more invested in it than him was Arin. Further bringing up the question as to why the man was currently trying to dismantle it by proxy.

Except, that didn't make sense. It couldn't. After all,  
_"Dan…Would you be willing to bring back Game Grumps with me?"_  
That's what the Arin of the other reality asked him.

Yet, Dan still chose to leave that reality behind just for the chance to restore this one, the true one. It would have been easier just to stay there, to forget anything was different at all. He still would have had Ninja Sex Party, Game Grumps would have happened eventually, Ross existed, and the rest of them would have been reunited soon enough. Yet, he still jumped at the chance to fix everything. Why?

 _"If it makes him happy… it's worth the risk."_ Holly's words echoed through his mind again.

Sure circumstances seemed to be better for all of them in the alternate reality, but were they really better off? Dan found it strange that he was only now giving his decision heavy thought, but he realized that his decision wouldn't have changed regardless. Ross, Holly, Barry, Suzy, Arin… Sure there was a chance they could all eventually be happy in the other reality, sure they may have been better off, but that didn't change the fact that they were sad in that world when they didn't have to be.

It didn't matter who was responsible for what happened. It didn't matter that he nearly went insane trying to make things right. What mattered now was that he was on the verge of fixing everything and this was the last thing he had to do.

\---

Kevin shook Danny from his thoughts. "Danny, are you ok?"

"Yeah, no, I don't know." Danny steeled his resolve, "I'm going to talk to him."

"What? But the project hasn't been published yet! It's best if you wait-"

"But it's Arin! I can't just-I'm sure he has a reason, or something. Maybe we can just talk it out and everything will be ok."

"I'm not sure-"

Danny didn't hear him as he stood up from their hiding spot and started approaching the work desk where Arin sat. Cautiously, he reached out to tap Arin's shoulder; startling the other man as he reflexively turned to face him.

"Hey buddy."

"...Dan?"

"What are you doing?"

Arin looked at him blankly, his face full of confusion, "That's my line, what are you doing here?"

"Do you know where 'here' is?"

Arin sputtered, "Wha…? Dan…! Of course I do! We're at the…" He trailed off, searching his brain for the answer.

"Arin, you can tell me what's going on." Danny slowly moved closer to him, "I'm sure you had some big thing planned, or maybe something went wrong; you could have told me. I think 'Not-so-Grump' deserves to be included in any world changing decisions; _especially_ if they're literal."

Arin backed away, "What are you talking about? Seriously dude, nothing you're saying is making any sense."

"C'mon Arin. Reprogramming the world, deleting Ross, ending Game Grumps; next time, give me a heads up before doing that kind of thing."

"Danny." Kevin finally spoke up, but sounded so far away. "This Arin doesn't know what you're talking about, his changes have already started to take effect."

Danny just sighed in agreement as he turned to the computer. "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter now. All I have to do is cancel this and then we can talk about all of this later." He chuckled, "Don't think you're off the hook just because you programmed yourself to forg-"

The air shifted as a flash of pain jolted through Danny's back. He felt a cold, metal, blade-like object being forced into him as his perception of time seemed to slow down. Turning his head to look behind him, he saw Arin on the ground in shock and the shadow of a figure over his shoulder.

"What… What the hell… is happening?"

"I told you…" The shadow said chipperly, rapidly phasing in and out. "I would cut a bitch for Arin."

"S-Suzy…?!"

 

~END Chapter 5~

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Seriously, it will all make sense in the next chapter.


	6. Criss Cross Convergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and death have a chat. Wait, I probably shouldn't have said that...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: If you couldn’t tell by now, I had a bit of a hard time coming up with chapter titles so I basically went with whatever gibberish my mind came up with. Also, don't jump to conclusions; probably should have said that last chapter…

\---

Time came to a halt as Danny realized his mysterious assailant's identity. But no, this was wrong. This was all wrong!

He tried to look at her more closely, attempting to regain some clarity after the sudden shock of being impaled. Suzy kept smiling as she dug her weapon in deeper, but Danny noticed something was off. Parts of her kept flickering, like static or a glitch from an incomplete program. Was she even real or was he actually losing it?

As Danny tried to turn back to the computer, Suzy gave her weapon one final push into Danny's back before suddenly tearing it out. She used her other free hand to shove Danny away from the desk and onto the ground.

"Hrk-agch!" Danny gasped as he spun to the ground, landing on his back as he winced in pain. His hands reflexively moved to his side where he felt a warm, sticky liquid rapidly pooling from under him. He craned his head upwards to see the shadow resembling Suzy holding up a blood-stained pair of scissors in her hand like a distorted victory sign.

"B-Babe… W-What the fuck?!" Arin spoke up.

She turned to him, her gaze looking more like a stiff imitation than the real thing, "Something wrong Arin?"

"Of course there's something fuckin' wrong! What's happening?! I don't-I didn't…"

"What are you talking about Babe?" She blinked in an innocent confusion, "This is what you wanted right?"

Arin simply recoiled in horror as his eye fell to the drops of blood sliding off the scissor blades. "Nnn-"

"No…" Danny realized as he watched the scene unfold. His mind finally put it together. Of course if Arin were to redo the world he'd program his wife first, whether intentional or not. However, this wasn't Suzy, outside of being some twisted, glitching persona of whatever world Arin was trying to make; and Danny was certain this wasn't what Arin intended to happen either.

Unfortunately, Danny had no way of communicating his epiphanies as the only sounds he could produce at the moment were gasps of pain. Getting stabbed by a pair of scissors; is that really how he was going to die? His mind started to blur as his eyelids grew heavy. He looked over to the left and wondered if the blood would leave a permanent stain on the grump space floor. That would suck.

Danny reached back up to the computer, trying to grasp at the keyboard to finish what he came here to do, but it was no use. Glitch Suzy noticed and walked back to him, towering over his body, weapon in hand. Her eyes looked hollow and her smile felt empty. Danny wondered if she was going to connect the hole in his back with one in the front, until she moved the scissors over his head. "Not the money-maker…" He joked weakly, but went unheard.

"Well, good night." She stated pleasantly, swinging the pair of scissors into the air. They cast a shadow over his face, moving closer and closer-

 

A light blinded his eyes.

 

That was it. It was over.

 

Until Danny's eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness and he realized he was still alive.

"What are you-?! Who are you?!" Glitch Suzy yelled as her wrist was pulled behind her, the bloody scissors now abandoned on the ground. Danny swore he was seeing double as it looked like there were two Suzies. The view was soon blocked by two familiar people looking over him, their figures quickly becoming blurry.

"You see Kevin, when it comes to world-rebooting a timeline, sequences can also be synced to induce a crossover if needed."

"Ok… That still doesn't explain why you're risking a paradox."

"Well, it all depends on timing. They're possible, as long as they're not attempted too much."

"I thought they automatically cause the whole program to crash?"

"Not necessarily…"

 _"Kevin? Barry? They're here?"_ Danny noted to himself, he was in too much pain to be confused at the moment. "Say Barry, could you edit out this huge gash in my liver? Thanks Barry."

"Danny!" Kevin exclaimed, taking notice of him. "Don't worry, you're going to be ok."

"He's ok enough to still be making jokes." Barry reassured him. "Right Dan?"

"Mmmuph…" Danny murmured. Everything started feeling so far away, shouldn't he be scared?

Someone else cast a shadow over him, but Danny's mind was too clouded to figure out who it was. He moved over to the computer and started doing the task Danny failed to do earlier.

"It's ok. You can relax now."

And like magic, Danny was out.

\-----

* _Beep._ * * _Beep._ *

A constant, steady beeping noise filled his ears.

Natural sunlight filtered through the windows as Dan's eyes adjusted to his new surroundings. He felt groggy, and, with a great effort, managed to sit up. Dan noticed the white walls and the smell of antiseptic, and momentarily wondered if he had finally gone insane; until he heard a familiar chuckle coming from beside him.

Danny turned to see Barry waving at him, as if he was welcoming him back from a long trip.

"Barry…?" Dan wondered out loud, "But which Barry are you?"

"I don't know Dan," He answered, face blank. "What are you talking about?"

Danny trembled, "Oh no-"

"Nah, I'm just kidding. You're in the real world Dan, our world."

Danny frowned, unsure if he could believe him, until Barry pointed to Dan's right as he turned to see a familiar face asleep in the armchair. Relief washed over Dan as he instantly recognized him to be Ross, the 'real' Ross as opposed an altered reality Ross.

"Believe me now?" Barry asked, bemused.

Dan lied back down on the bed. "I guess." He answered nonchalantly, but couldn't hide his joy that things were finally back to normal. "Forgive me for being a bit paranoid after traveling through universes and time and shit. I still have no idea about anything that happened."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Almost dying in the grump space. That wouldn't have been cool." He pushed his mind to think back further. "Did Arin really alter reality with an Adobe program? Can you guys just do that whenever you want?"

"How else do you think I got everything done before Kevin joined the team?" Barry shrugged.

"Wha…? But…? What?!" Dan sputtered. "You guys can literally just _change things around_ at the drop of a hat?! Isn't that, I dunno, dangerous or something?"

Barry grinned, clearly attempting to hold in his laughter.

"Barry! You can't just screw with reality! Right?!"

"Nah, I was just messing with you." He cleared his throat, "Except for, well, all of...'whatever happened to you' actually did happen to you."

"You say that as if you don't know." Danny noticed Barry turning away from him, "You know about everything that happened, right Barry?" Dan failed to get an answer. " _Right_ Barry?"

"It's kind of...complicated, so let's just start from the beginning. So you've been kind of 'out of it' for the past couple of days right?"

"Right, if by 'out of it' you mean stuck in 'Ross' Wonderful Life' world convinced I was going insane. If it wasn't for Kevin I don't know where I'd be." Dan looked around the room, "By the way, where is Kevin?"

"Gave him a break and sent him home."

"Finally." Danny chuckled. "He wasn't stuck helping me for the past few days was he?"

"Eh… Sorta. Time flowed differently here than it did while you were 'there'."

"You're telling me. Kevin somehow brought me back _through time_. Is there no limit to your editor powers?"

"That depends. 'On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?' "

"What?"

"It's Baymax, from that disney movie," Barry said proudly. "It's fitting since you're in the hospital right now and all."

"Wait, really?" Dan replied as his situation finally hit him. "Oh. Yeah. I guess it's from getting stabbed back in the grump space by a crazy, glitching, Suzy shadow." Dan paused, "Never thought I'd say something like that."

"Does it still hurt?"

"Huh, come to think of it I haven't felt anything in my back since I woke up." He looked up at his IV, "What am I on? I don't feel loopy, at least, I don't think I feel loopy. Wait-" Dan reached behind him and patted the spot on his back where he was attacked moments prior. He then immediately turned back to Barry. "You can't be serious."

"Never happened; in this timeline anyway. Though, to keep things stable I had to edit in a head injury to explain your loss of consciousness for three days. I kept it minor so they wouldn't have to do surgery and shave your head."

"Thank you Based-Barry." Dan was quick to reply, half-sincere and half-scared.

"You're welcome." Barry grinned, proud nonetheless.

A slight moan echoed out from behind Dan, quickly followed by a yawn. The two men looked over to see Ross stirring from his nap.

"Good morning." Danny greeted him in a pleasant tone.

Ross blinked a few times as his mind processed what was happening. "Dan?" His eyes then went wide. "Holy shit! Dan!" He looked up at Barry. "Dan's awake! When did he wake up?"

"Just now. I was filling him in on what he missed."

Ross turned back to Dan, his bright smile refusing to leave his face. "Welcome back Dan."

Danny suddenly turned and grabbed Ross into a big hug. It finally hit him that it was all over. What felt like forever of him being scared he'd never get to see his friends again, his **real** friends, was finally over. Without a doubt, Ross was here and with him was the realization that _this_ was real and everything was the way it was supposed to be.

"Uh… Dan? You ok there buddy?"

"Yeah." Dan released him with a sigh. "Yeah. Just… relieved."

"Do you need me to get you a nurse or-?"

"Not that kind of 'relieved' Ross!"

Ross started laughing and Barry joined in. Danny tried to sound mad but couldn't keep his smile off his face, convinced that he could never again take such simple moments for granted. He was about to speak up when the door opened and two familiar people stepped inside.

"Dan!" Suzy gasped softly.  
"He's awake!" Holly exclaimed simultaneously.

Both girls excitedly rushed to his side. Holly sat on the arm of Ross' chair and patted Dan's arm while Suzy stroked his hair gently. Danny looked up at her, seeing no trace of strange pixels coming off her or crazy in her eyes. _"Ah. She's the 'real' Suzy."_ He thought gladly.

"Don't scare us like that ever again Dan!" Suzy exclaimed. "You have no idea how worried we were about you!"

"You made Ross cry." Holly stated, matter-of-factly.

"Holly!" Ross exclaimed in embarrassment. "Don't tell him that!"

The room grew lively in no time as everyone crowded around Danny's bed, exchanging jokes and recapping the past few days. Dan laid back, relaxed to know that he wasn't a chew toy of the time-space continuum, at least not anymore.

He took one final survey around the room and only one question remained:

 

Where was Arin?

  
  
~ END Chapter 6 ~


	7. Heart to Heart in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Arin have a talk part 2: the question-solving edition.

 

\---

It was 2 in the morning as Dan laid awake in his bed, surprised he couldn't sleep. The others left earlier to give him some breathing room, and Dan thought he'd fall asleep right away considering everything he went through. Suzy told him Arin would be stopping by later, but hours passed and no one but the occasional nurse came by to check on him.

Suddenly the door shifted as someone made their way inside the room. The stranger attempted to be subtle, but their encounter with a chair in the dark put an end to that.

"What the fuck?!" Danny called out in alarm.

"What!?" The figure responded to Dan's fear reaction.

"Arin? Why are you sneaking around my room in the dark?"

"Uh, I'm not." Arin then quickly switched on the lights.

"Auwgh!" The sudden brightness blinded Danny as he motioned for Arin to turn the lights back off.

Arin complied. "Quiet Dan! We're in the hospital."

"Oh. Oh. Clearly **I'm** the one in the wrong here."

"Yeah." Arin scoffed.

"Ok."

A moment of silence passed between the two men as Arin took a seat on the windowsill, refusing to look at Danny.

"So, we're just," Dan fumbled for a response, "Are we doing this? We need to do this."

"Do what?"

"Talk about what happened."

Arin paused, "...Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning would be nice. The very beginning." Danny kept his tone steady, trying to keep any emotion out of his answers.

"I could make a joke about the big bang or how I was born if you want."

"Yeah you could. Do you really want to?"

"Nah." Arin casually shrugged.

Dan just stared waiting for him to continue. After a few more moments of silence he took the initiative to speak up. "So what-Where did this all begin? You do know what I'm talking about right?"

"I have an idea of your idea of what happened."

Dan tried not to think too hard about Arin's answer, "So what happened then?"

"I got a new version of Adobe Premiere and it was really wonky. The end."

"Wait, wait, wait, no. You can't be serious. That can't be it, don't give me your 'the end' bullshit. I was sent to some weird alternate universe just because you messed around in Adobe Premiere? And that's all there was to it?"

"Ok, well, first of all, how do you know you were in an alternate world?"

"Um, the absence of Ross, Game Grumps, and life changing events pretty much confirmed it."

"And you think I just made an entire new world out of Adobe Premiere?"

"I still have trouble wrapping my head around that idea, but that seems to be the case."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just edit the existing world instead of making a new one?"

"Wha-? What difference does that make?! You're dancing around this issue too casually Arin! Tell me you can't just alter the fabric of reality from a commonly-used computer program!"

Arin turned to Dan, holding up fingers to emphasize his points. "Hey, hey, first of all, this program isn't the regular edition of Premiere; and second, people can't just go out and get it over the counter."

"Right. I'm sure they have to wait for an Amazon sale or something."

"Well actually it was Ebay-"

Danny immediately cut him off, "You bought a reality-warping version of Adobe Premiere off of **Ebay**!?"

"Will you let me finish?" Arin countered. "Yes."

Dan's mouth hung open, too stunned to reply.

Arin grinned sheepishly, "You remember that thousand I said I spent on a landfill E.T. cartridge? That ma~y or ma~y not have been a lie.” He admitted.

"No shit."

"In my defense, I wasn't sure if it would even work! The seller was from Korea, and they said they used it when farming in MMOs or something."

"Yet you still bought it! Did you want it that badly?

Arin went silent at Danny's question, turning away from him again. It was then that everything started coming together in Dan's mind. "It wasn't an accident the world got fucked up, was it?"

"...It wasn't on purpose."

"What about editing Ross out of America?"

"...That might have been on purpose."

Danny chuckled at Arin's reply. "I still want to know why I was the only one who wasn't affected. Am I immune to the Adobe Matrix?"

"You…well…it's…" Arin fumbled over his words. "I think I didn't actually want the world to change. Little did I know you were going to fight like hell to fix it."

Dan's tone grew concerned, "Why did you want a change in the first place?"

Arin slumped in the chair by Danny's bed and rested his cheek in his palm. "This past year has just been rough. I felt that I had to carry the channel through all the financial and management stuff because I didn't want to worry you guys, but then I got frustrated too. I wanted the channel to be able to support us all so we could feel free to animate, make songs, make crafts, all that, but I ended up neglecting all my current projects."

Dan was about to speak up, but decided against it. Arin continued. "I found that program while I was browsing Ebay randomly. Originally I thought it would be great if I could just start the year over, but somehow that snowballed into the sequences getting screwed up and the channel ending prematurely. You accidentally copy over Ross in the clipboard and suddenly the whole world turns to shit."

"Goddammit Ross." Danny replied reflexively.

Arin snickered before going back to his somber tone. "Fuck, I sound like a pathetic whiner. I'm sorry Dan." He looked at the ground, "I'm really sorry."

"Wha-! Dude! I would fix a matrix world for you a hundred times, don't be sorry." Dan held his gaze over Arin, how could he miss something that big? Was Arin just that good at hiding it or was it because he wasn't looking? They got so many things done this year, Starbomb 2, the new office, countless conventions, charity work, and episodes; but he never stopped and thought about the planning behind all of it.

For every project they had, Arin was at the forefront of all of it. Was it any surprise that it all eventually wore him down? Even then, when Arin had the chance to make his ideal world, it was one that worked out the best for everyone else.

Dan looked over at Arin who had failed to give him a reply. "Arin? Arin, I'm serious. I don't hold any of this against you."

Arin shook his head. "But so many things could have gone wrong. What if you didn't fix everything within that deadline? What if we didn't have Kevin and his miraculous video editing degree? What if you didn't remember the real world?"

"Arin…"

"Plus your life was pretty shitty in that other world, thanks to me."

"Arin-"

He turned to Dan, an angry tone present in his voice but the look in his eyes seemed upset, almost pleading. "Besides, how do you know I won't just open that program and fuck up the world again?"

"Arin!" Dan's hand flew out and struck Arin's cheek in an attempt to get his attention. Dan immediately withdrew his arm, looking more shocked than the other man at the scene. "Oh shitfuck!"

"Ow! Jesus Dan!"

"Sorry, are you ok? Sorry!"

"Heh, wasn't I the one apologizing?"

"Until you went off on a self-loathing tangent, after I accepted your apology. Was that slap enough to knock you to your senses?"

Arin rubbed his cheek with a pout. "Ow…"

"Oh come on, a slap is more than fair considering I got _stabbed_."

"That was Glitch Suzy!"

Both men were silent for a moment then burst out in simultaneous laughter. "Chalk that up on your 'amazing things I never thought I'd say' list." Danny cleared his throat. "So you remember that night; better than I do I bet."

"You could say that."

"Tell me what really happened. I got lost when Kevin brought me back in time like it was nothing and the scissors didn't help."

"Well you got stabbed, and fell to the ground really quickly. Seriously, they were just scissors dude. You really think you would have died?"

"Um, this is not 'question Dan's bodily fortitude' time."

Arin tried to hide a smirk as he continued. "Then Barry turned on the lights while Suzy dove in and held Glitch Suzy back before she could make you into swiss cheese."

Danny's eyes grew wide. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you fuckin' serious!? Suzy saved me!? By fighting off her glitched clone!?"

A goofy smile appeared on Arin's face. "Oh man, it was so badass."

"Man, I need to remember to take Suzy with me when I have to go to the rougher parts of town." Dan shook his head. "Then what?"

"Then you walked up, exited the project, and fixed everything."

"Wait, no." Dan sat back in thought for a moment. "No, that can't be right. After I got stabbed Barry and Kevin were talking to me, and some other guy I think, but I never got the chance to mess with the program or anything."

"Past 'you' didn't. That's the version of you that got stabbed. The one that fixed the world is the current 'you'. Well eventually."

"What?" Danny desperately tried to understand what Arin was saying, but his mind came up with nothing. "What?"

"Barry and Suzy will explain it to you in the morning when you get discharged. Basically you still have to go back to fix things, but its not a huge deal. Especially compared to all the shit you went through these past couple of days."

Danny leaned back into his bed with a whine, "I just want everything to be over." Suddenly, he sat back up as his mind started putting things together. "Wait! So the person that told me to go to sleep back then was actually _me_?"

"Yup."

"Wouldn't that- Shouldn't that- How did that not cause a paradox?!"

"You have to ask Barry, I'm just the messenger."

"Messenger?"

"When all of you time traveled, or will time travel‒God this is confusing‒I was told to explain things to you guys once the timeline sequences converged. All I know is that Barry and Kevin knew what I was talking about."

"Oh… Future us told past you who would then tell present us." Dan blinked. "I think… that's why things are stable?"

Arin just shrugged. "You can always ask Barry."

Dan shook his head, "I'm good thanks."

"Anything else you wanted to ask?"

Dan hesitated before asking the question that had bugged him the most during his reality sliding journey, "...Why me?" He looked directly at Arin. "Why was everyone else doing ok in that world but me?"

"Because you weren't a part of that world." Arin answered simply. "If time had run out then your life and memories would have been changed like everyone else's. You wouldn't have been living on Brian's couch I can tell you that much."

Danny thought about that scenario for a moment. "What was up with that? Brian doesn't even live here."

"Our office isn't in Polaris either; you didn't question that."

"I kinda had higher priorities at the time."

Arin just shrugged. "Obviously the program wasn't perfect, rearranging data sometimes dumps data into weird places."

Dan put his fist to his head. "Ugh, no more please. I've had enough of this reality shifting bullshit."

"You wouldn't fix anything about the world if you could?"

Dan sat in thought for a moment. "Everyone has things they would want to change, but I don't know if changing something would be 'fixing' it. I don't think your goal was to end Game Grumps, but that ended up happening. Even then, in that altered world when you had no memories of everything that went down, you still wanted to do it. What I'm saying is, even if we could make a perfect world, I'd still prefer this one."

"Really?"

"Really. We wouldn't be having this 'heart-to-heart in the dark' moment if I did."

Arin started snickering, "A 'heart-to-heart in the dark'? Can we get anymore sappy?" His laughing continued.

Dan sighed with a smile as he turned to Arin, "So we're good?"

His laughter slowed down with a cough. "Yeah," Arin grinned contently, "We're good."

 

\-----

 

~Epilogue~

 

"Hey I'm grump!"  
"I'm not so grump!"  
"And we're the game grumps!"

"...Oh hey, did I ever tell the story about how I was almost killed by a pair of scissors?"

"Come on Dan, you weren't going to die."

"Arin was there too. Just watching."

"Because I was too busy trying to figure out what the fuck was going on!"

"Hahaha; wait wait, hold on. Hold on."

"But yeah, I don't think you ever did on the show. You would need the whole episode to tell that story in full."

"Well get ready for an extended episode of Game Grumps lovelies. It all started at last year's Christmas party…"

 

~The End~

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you to everyone who proof-read this fic and to all of you who read through it all! Hope you all enjoyed this!


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